Historic bridge in Noblesville moves to new location

A historic bridge in Noblesville was disassembled and moved to Conner Prairie this month.

The Midland Bridge was removed as part of Noblesville’s Reimagine Pleasant Street project. The city developed the plan to improve connectivity and mobility throughout downtown.

Mayor Chris Jensen said Conner Prairie was a logical choice for storage of the old bridge.

“It's not a small little structure, it's quite large. And so, we were able to reach out and talk to our friends at Conner Prairie.  They are just south of us on the river and see if they would partner with us to store it for us temporarily and then kind of build it into their long-term plan,” Jensen said. 

“They're just natural partners for this type of thing, obviously, because they focus on living history. And so, it worked out well.Jensen said.

Portions of the bridge were fabricated by the Union Bridge Company of Buffalo, New York and Athens, Pennsylvania in 1893. The bridge was eventually used by the Central Indiana Railway Company. The two-span steel through truss bridge is approximately 200 feet long and spans the White River just west of downtown Noblesville.

Plans for a final location of the refurbished, reassembled bridge are still being developed.

“There's always the narrative that communities are growing, growing for the sake of growing and we're going to grow regardless, but we can still do it the right way and honor our history of the county’s bicentennial year.  It's the city of Noblesville’s bicentennial year. So, it's really putting a highlight on that history,” Jensen said.

Meanwhile, a new bridge will be built, and the project is expected to be complete by 2025.

.Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Taylor Bennett at tbennett@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @TaylorB2213.